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"Mystery of the Flamingo's Pink" is the 1st episode of Season 6 of the PBS Kids show Wild Kratts. It is the 135th episode of the series overall. It premiered on April 15, 2019.
Synopsis[]
In the episode, while spending time with her teammates in a Caribbean salt marsh inhabited by Caribbean flamingos, Aviva programs a Flamingo Creature Power Suit. However, when Martin activates Flamingo Power, he ends up with white, not pink, feathers. The Wild Kratts then try to figure out how to turn the suit's feathers from white to pink by first figuring out how the flamingos obtain the vibrant pink that characterizes their feathers. Meanwhile, Gourmand plots to extract the components of the briny salt marsh water and to make money by selling it as a seasoning.
Plot[]
The episode begins with a live-action segment. The Kratt brothers head to Sylvan Heights Bird Park in Scotland Neck, North Carolina, to check out Caribbean flamingos. They highlight key flamingo features, mainly their long and thin legs, long necks, beaks that filter feed, and pink feathers. The Kratt brothers then wonder why flamingo feathers are pink and imagine that they have the creature powers of the flamingo to find out. Afterward, they exclaim "What if?", and the episode transitions into the animated segment.
Chris petting Pinkster
The Wild Kratts are in a Caribbean salt marsh inhabited by Caribbean flamingos. The Kratt brothers and Jimmy Z spend time with the flamingos in the shallow water. They follow a flamingo mother to her nest, where they find a white flamingo chick, which Martin names Pinkster. Aviva and Koki, on the other hand, work together on a Flamingo Creature Power Suit, making sure to add plenty of the pink that characterizes flamingos. Meanwhile, Gourmand is also in the same salt marsh, cooking a stir-fried dish in his kitchen. He scoops up briny water, filters out the components inside, and adds them to his dish as a seasoning. After tasting his dish and liking it, he plots to extract the components of the briny salt marsh water and to make money selling it.
Aviva and Koki wade through the flock of flamingos and hold up a finished Flamingo Disc in view of the Kratt brothers. The Kratt brothers run towards them and, after a short struggle, Martin grabs the disc. He inserts the disc into his Creature Power Vest, touches a flamingo, and activates Flamingo Power, but ends up with white, not pink, feathers. At first shocked that he does not have pink feathers, Martin nevertheless enjoys his new flamingo features, such as being able to balance himself on one leg and to filter-feed with his beak. To find out what the flamingos are filtering out with their beaks, Chris miniaturizes and dives down into the water, where he finds blue-green algae and brine shrimp that eat the algae. Koki does an analysis of the water and discovers that the algae and brine shrimp have high levels of a class of pigments called carotenoids. When she isolates the carotenoids, the water turns pink. With this new information, Martin picks up the pace, and for two days and two nights, he filer-feeds and absorbs algae and brine shrimp in order to extract their carotenoids. On the third day, Martin's feathers finally turn from white to pink. Meanwhile, Chris, still swimming with the brine shrimp, gets sucked up into one of Gourmand's giant filters. Chris, the algae, and the brine shrimp are then compressed into concentrated brine and poured into jars. The next day, Martin finds out that he and the other flamingos have lost their distinctive pink and now have white feathers. He and his teammates then get a call from Chris, who tells them that Gourmand, by taking the algae and brine shrimp, is responsible for causing the flamingos' feathers to turn from pink to white. The Wild Kratts then make a plan to stop Gourmand.
Gourmand and a flamingo
Martin, followed by several flamingos, arrives at Gourmand's plane. He explains to Gourmand that by taking the algae and brine shrimp from the water, he is responsible for causing the flamingos to lose the pink in their feathers. Gourmand laughs at Martin's assertion that algae and brine shrimp are the reason why flamingo feathers are pink, and to distract Martin, he points his finger at the horizon and says "Look! There's a pink gorilla!" Martin gets distracted long enough for Gourmand to take off in his plane. Aviva finishes a Brine Shrimp Disc and Jimmy teleports the disc to Chris, who activates his suit and expands to human size from his jar. Chris uses his many arms to throw the jars of concentrated brine off Gourmand's plane and to hold back Gourmand by tickling him. Once the last jars are tossed overboard, Chris drops down from Gourmand's plane and is caught by Martin, who takes him back to the salt man. In the end, the algae and brine shrimp are returned, and all the flamingos and Martin have their pink feathers restored. Also, Aviva makes some fun adjustments to the Flamingo Power Suit in which Martin turns into the color of the fruit he eats, to the point when he happily says "Where are the blueberries?" and everyone laughs.
The episode transitions into the closing live-action segment. The Kratt brothers highlight the flamingo's beak and how flamingos use it to filter-feed. They also spend time with white 5-week-old lesser flamingo chicks. They take the chicks for a walk before concluding the episode by saying "Keep on creature adventuring; we'll see you on the creature trail!"
Characters[]
From left to right: Martin in Flamingo Power, Aviva, Jimmy, Chris in Brine Shrimp Power, and Koki
Animals[]
Animation[]
Note: Featured animals are in bold.
- American Flamingo (called Caribbean flamingo): Pinkster
- American Brine Shrimp (called Brine shrimp)
Mentioned []
Note: Mentioned animals are linked to Wikipedia.
Live Action []
Note: Live action animals are linked to Wikipedia.
- Ruddy duck
- White-faced whistling duck
- Mallard
- Cinnamon teal
- Red-crested pochard
- Gadwall
- Eurasian wigeon
- Northern pintail
- Common goldeneye
- Smew
- Hooded merganser
- Common shelduck
- Redhead
- Ringed teal
- Rosy-billed pochard
- Common eider
- Mandarin duck
- Lesser flamingo
Trivia[]
- This is their 2nd wading bird-based episode, the first being "Blue Heron".
Key Facts and Creature Moments[]
- Flamingos get their signature color pink by feeding on algae and brine shrimp which are high in carotenoids.
- Flamingoes are filter feeders who feed by moving their heads from side to side, using their beak to filter out brine shrimp and algae in the water.
- Flamingo beaks are hook shaped, smaller at the top part and larger at the bottom part, the opposite of most bird beaks.
- Baby flamingos are born with white feathers and a straight beak.
- Flamingoes make their nests out of mud and a few feathers.
- Both mom and dad flamingoes are good parents that take care of their chick.
- Mother flamingos feed their young a briny red liquid from their esophagus. This liquid is full of digested algae and brine shrimp so the chick can obtain the carotenoids they need to become pink.
- Flamingoes stand on one leg at a time when resting to save energy, they even have a locking mechanism in their legs for balance.
- Despite their appearance, flamingoes are great fliers.
- Brine shrimp can live in water bodies so salty no fish can live there.
- Brine shrimp use their multiple legs to swim.
- Brine shrimp are sometimes called sea monkeys even though they don't resemble monkeys at all.